Al Cardenas defends Chris Christie CPAC snub

Chris Christie was not invited to speak at CPAC because he criticized House Speaker John Boehner and GOP caucus politics during the debate over bringing the Hurricane Sandy relief bill to the floor, the group’s head confirmed to POLITICO.

The snub of Christie has set off a storm of reaction on the right: Some conservatives who’ve been angered by the New Jersey governor have called it justified, while others say it underscores the party’s own problems with its brand.

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“CPAC is to conservative politics what all-star games are to professional athletes,” wrote American Conservative Union head Al Cardenas in an email to POLITICO. “You get invited to speak amongst literally thousands of potential candidates.

“Governor Christie was invited to CPAC last year because he did a great job in N.J. facing up to the teachers unions, balancing the budget and cutting debt,” Cardenas continued. “This past year he strongly advocated for the passage of a $60+ billion pork barrel bill, containing only $9 billion in disaster assistance and he signed up with the federal government to expand Medicaid at a time when his state can ill afford it, so he was not invited to speak.”

He added, “Hopefully he will be back in top form next year. We would be delighted to invite him again in that case.”

Christie’s approval rating in New Jersey is at 74 percent, and he is seen as one of his party’s biggest stars as he runs for reelection in November. He’s viewed as a top-tier GOP presidential contender in 2016 should he decide to run.

The CPAC confab in Washington draws many of the party’s top stars. But it is also featuring recent also-rans like Mitt Romney and Sarah Palin this year, underscoring how noticeable Christie’s absence is.

Cardenas is allied with Romney, whose backers were enraged by Christie’s praise of President Barack Obama’s performance right after Hurricane Sandy. Cardenas had also been a promoter of Sen. Marco Rubio, with whom he is close, for the VP nod in 2012.

Christie supporters who were offended by the CPAC move noted the governor is pro-life and conservative on social issues, saying it’s illogical to exclude him.

Yet the reality of the CPAC snub is it works for both sides involved — it spares Christie having to appear at an event that Democrats would use against him in 2013, and it creates a media controversy that elevates the significance of CPAC, which some operatives privately say is overhyped.

Still, the snub didn’t sit well with some strategists.

“To my knowledge, CPAC has always invited Republicans regardless of ideology and they lose credibility by ignoring someone of Gov. Christie’s stature,” said Mike Dennehy, a New Hampshire-based GOP strategist.

Others supported it.

“The essential element that’s missing in the Acela corridor kerfuffle on Christie not being invited to CPAC is the ‘C’ in CPAC stands for ‘Conservative,’” said Florida-based operative Rick Wilson.

“You have a guy who stung the base very badly in the closing days of the 2012 election and who last week says he agrees with Cuomo 98 percent of the time. He’s done some fine work in New Jersey, but he’s also handled relationships with the base with what a lot of conservatives view as contempt. On guns, global warming and a host of other issues, he’s not exactly asking for an invitation to the dance. “